CHAPTER 70: ALL OUT WAR

The sun rose blood-red over the horizon, casting long shadows across the battered grounds of the villa. Smoke still curled from the scorched patches of earth where Matteo’s men had clashed with Luca’s the night before. The estate bore the scars of war, shattered glass, bullet-riddled walls, the bitter smell of gunpowder woven into the air.

Aria stood at the balcony of the east wing, the morning wind tugging at the loose strands of her hair. She hadn’t slept. Sleep was impossible when the world she knew had been burned down and rebuilt overnight. Everything she had believed about herself, who she was, where she came from, what she was capable of, had been shattered. And in its place, something else was rising.

She touched the old signet ring that had been delivered hours earlier, her grandfather’s. Heavy gold, engraved with the symbol of the Conti Syndicate, the blood empire her mother had run from and the one that now claimed her by birthright.

"Aria."

Luca’s voice was low, threaded with the exhaustion of a man who’d spent the night putting out fires and stitching wounds. He was freshly bandaged, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar, dark circles bruising the skin beneath his eyes. And yet, even like this, battered and bleeding, he looked at her like she was the only thing holding his world together.

"They’re gathering downstairs," he said. "Our men. The Conti representatives. Even a few of the rival families who survived Matteo’s betrayal. They want answers."

Aria’s grip on the railing tightened. "So do I."

Luca came closer, studying her face. "What’s going on in that head of yours?"

She turned then, meeting his gaze. "I’m done being a pawn, Luca. I’m done being a reason for men to start wars while I hide behind walls. This ends today, one way or another."

He searched her eyes for a long moment, something like pride flickering beneath his worry. "Then let’s end it. Together."

The great hall was packed. Men and women from both factions filled the space, their murmurs echoing off the marble walls. The tension was thick, coiled like a spring. They had all come for the same reason: to see what Aria Valencia- Conti , the lost heiress, would do next.

Aria entered with Luca by her side, and the room fell silent. Every eye turned toward her, some with hatred, some with fear, some with cautious hope. She felt the weight of centuries pressing down on her, generations of blood spilled for power, of women silenced or erased.

But not today.

"My name," she began, her voice carrying across the chamber, "is Aria Valencia- Conti, Daughter of Vanessa Conti. Granddaughter of Giancarlo Conti, patriarch of the Conti Syndicate."

A ripple of shock moved through the room. A few men bowed their heads; others exchanged tense glances.

"For too long," she continued, "my existence has been treated like a threat. My bloodline, like a curse. I have been hunted, manipulated, and used as a weapon by those who fear what I represent. But here is the truth you’ve all been running from, I am not your pawn. I am not your prize. I am your reckoning."

Silence hung heavy, broken only by the distant crackle of the fire in the hearth.

"Matteo’s betrayal showed us what happens when greed festers unchecked," she said, her gaze sweeping the room. "It showed us that loyalty has been replaced with ambition, that fear now drives decisions once guided by honor. That ends today. Because today, I claim what is mine."

Her voice rose, steadier, stronger. "I claim the Conti legacy. I claim the seat that my grandfather built and my mother walked away from. I claim the power that courses through my veins, not for revenge, but for justice."

Gasps echoed. Some men whispered furiously. One older capo stepped forward, his voice trembling with outrage. "You think we’ll kneel for a girl raised outside the life? A woman who knows nothing of our ways?"

Aria descended the steps slowly until she stood before him. "I know enough to see that the ways you cling to are rotting from the inside," she said calmly. "I know that fear of a woman’s strength is why you’re all here trembling. And I know this: you will kneel not because of who I am, but because you cannot stop what I am."

The man’s face flushed, but he said nothing.

Aria turned back to the crowd. "To those who stand with me, I offer peace and power. A seat at the table as we rebuild something stronger than the crumbling empires our fathers left us. But to those who come for me, for Luca, for my family, I offer only one thing: war."

The word cracked like a gunshot, echoing through the hall. And in that moment, Aria was no longer the frightened girl dragged into Luca’s world against her will. She was fire and steel and destiny.

When the assembly dispersed, the villa felt eerily quiet. Aria stood once more on the balcony, watching the sun climb higher. The declaration still rang in her ears, vibrating in her chest. She had done it, she had drawn the line. There was no turning back now.

"You really meant it," Luca said, joining her. "War."

She didn’t look at him. "It was always coming. Now we’re the ones choosing it."

He exhaled, leaning on the railing beside her. "Do you understand what that means, Aria? Once we cross this line, there’s no peace. No middle ground. Every man we face will come for your crown, your life, everything you love."

"I know." She turned to him then, eyes burning. "But they’ve already taken too much. They took my father. They tried to take my name. I will not let them take us."

Luca studied her for a long time, then nodded. "Then I swear something to you. Not as the man who once held you captive. Not as the don they fear. But as your partner, your equal."

He stepped closer, taking her hands gently in his. "I swear my loyalty to you, Aria Conti. Not to your bloodline, not to your empire, but to you. To the woman who fights even when she’s terrified. To the woman who walked into hell and refused to break. Wherever this war takes us, I stand beside you."

Her breath hitched, emotion swelling in her chest. "Even if it destroys everything?"

"Then we’ll build something new from the ashes," he said. "Together."

The wind stirred between them, carrying the faint scent of smoke and steel. Aria looked at Luca, really looked and saw not the man who had once chained her to a life she didn’t choose, but the man who had become her shield, her anchor, her home.

"I used to hate you," she whispered, a ghost of a smile on her lips.

"I know." He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. "And now?"

"Now," she said softly, "I don’t know how to do any of this without you."

He kissed her then slow and fierce, a promise forged in the fire that surrounded them. The kiss tasted like salt and smoke and inevitability. It wasn’t gentle. It was the kiss of two people who had survived too much to ever be soft again.

When they broke apart, the sound of approaching footsteps drew their attention. Enzo appeared in the doorway, grim-faced.

"They’re moving already," he said. "The Cattaneo and Romano families. Gathering their soldiers, consolidating power. Matteo’s betrayal rattled them, but now they’re uniting under a single banner. Against you."

Aria nodded, unsurprised. "Then they’ve chosen their side."

Enzo hesitated. "There’s more. Word is, they’ve placed a bounty on your head. One million euros alive. Half that dead."

Luca’s jaw tightened, but Aria only inhaled slowly. "Then let them come. I won’t hide. They’ll learn soon enough that the girl they’re hunting isn’t prey anymore."

Enzo bowed slightly, a flicker of respect in his eyes. "As you wish, Signora Conti."

When he left, Luca turned to her. "They’re testing you already."

"Good," she said. "It means they’re afraid."

He gave a low, humorless chuckle. "Afraid people are dangerous."

"So are desperate ones," she countered.

That night, the war council gathered in the villa’s strategy room, a circular chamber lined with maps, documents, and decades of blood-soaked history. Luca, Enzo, Sonia, and a half dozen of their most trusted lieutenants filled the table. At the head sat Aria, with the Conti signet ring gleaming on her finger.

"The alliance of three families is already forming," Enzo reported. "They’re calling themselves Il Triumvirato. Their first move will be to seize the shipping routes along the Adriatic, they’re vital to your mother’s former network."

"They’re cutting off our supply lines," Luca muttered. "Textbook opening move."

"They’re also trying to pull in the eastern syndicates," Sonia added. "If they succeed, we’ll be outnumbered four to one."

Aria studied the map, her mind racing. "Then we don’t let them succeed."

Luca raised an eyebrow. "You have a plan."

"Not yet," she admitted. "But I have something better resolve. They expect hesitation. They expect the scared girl who ran from this world. Instead, we strike first."

Enzo blinked. "You mean..."

"Yes." She met Luca’s gaze. "We hit their ports before they’re ready. Cut off their funding, destroy their leverage. We show them what happens when they try to cage a Moretti."

A murmur of approval rippled around the room. Even Luca couldn’t hide the flicker of admiration. "That’s bold," he said. "Risky."

"It’s war," she replied simply. "Everything is risky now."

Hours later, when the council dispersed and the first plans were set into motion, Aria found herself back on the balcony. The night was quiet, the stars distant and cold. She felt Luca’s arms slide around her waist from behind, his chin resting lightly on her shoulder.

"Do you regret it?" he asked softly. "Declaring war?"

She shook her head. "No. I regret not doing it sooner."

They stood in silence for a while, the weight of what was coming pressing down on them both. Finally, she turned in his arms, looking up at him with fire in her eyes.

"They will come for us," she said. "All of them. They will try to break us."

"They’ll fail," Luca replied without hesitation. "Because they don’t understand this isn’t just your war, Aria. It’s ours."

Her heart swelled at his words. Ours. It was the first time she truly believed it, that she wasn’t alone in this fight, that she didn’t have to be.

And as the night deepened and the first whispers of war stirred in the dark, Aria Conti made a silent vow beneath the cold stars: she would not run. She would not hide. She would carve her destiny from the ashes of the old world, and anyone who tried to stop her would burn.

The girl who had once been hunted was gone.

In her place stood the heir of two empires. The queen of fire and blood.

And she was declaring war.